The Friendship Ring
by Prank to the Man
Summary: They thought it was over. They thought she was trapped for good. They underestimated her, and now they'll pay. Can a single boy with a clouded past stop the deadly cycle from coming full circle, or will he be too late to find out that she never sleeps?
1. C1 A Boy Named Mary Sue

The Friendship Ring

-O-

**Prologue **

-O-

Hate. Hate hate hate. That's what this dense forest was filled with in the center. The stony prison of a core smack in the middle of the forest. The trees stopped about fifty yards away from the well, as if forming a boundary around it. The wind blew, but the trees remained still. No sense of life could be found anywhere in this place. The only movement noticeable was the occasional wave of static through the false world.

_Smack_

_Smack_

_Smack_

_Smack_

"Everyone will suffer…"

_Mommy_

_I'm not your frigging mommy!_

"She has to die…Mommy has to die…"

_Splash…_

_Splash…_

The sound of stone rubbing against stone filled the void of noiselessness. The lid on the tiny well began to move up and down, bouncing lightly on the edge of the cylinder. A set of decayed, childlike fingers appeared from under it and shoved it partially aside, a raspy grunt accompanying the task. Light burned her diamond rough eyes, fueling her yearning all the more. The crack wasn't big enough to fit through, however, and she was already quite exhausted as it was. She'd have to speed things along if she didn't want to lose balance and fall back down to the dark place she loathed so. Another hand appeared and grappled onto the huge lid, the cement crushing her delicate yet powerful hands. She bit her rotting lip, pain coursing through her bloodless veins. There existed a determination inside this girl that could rival no other right now. She was betrayed, by her mother no less. She wanted to be free. She wanted revenge. The sound of her hand bones cracking failed to elude her from her goal. With a final outburst of energy, the obstruction finally skidded over the stone and onto the ground. The hole was open fully now. A black mesh of hair slithered its way over the edge of the well, a pair of hands following. It wasn't long until she was able to heave her lower body over the edge as well, and soon enough, there she stood, in whatever sort of deranged sense of glory this creature might house in their corrupted mind.

_He doesn't love me…He loves the horses…_

"She doesn't love me…She loves her son..."

She rubbed her hands together gently, attempting to massage the mutilated flesh. Lifting the lid was no easy task, even for her. She chuckled spitefully, being quite proud of herself at the time. She had never before been able to remove the stone from the well even halfway before, let alone tossing it right over her head and onto the ground. Her head tilted over to where the lid lay, her mop of tangled black hair swaying with her slightly. She just stared at it, wishing she could outright destroy it for what it had done. But no, she was far too smart for that. Maybe once she was an arrogant child that didn't understand anything, but she'd been destroying the lives of many for almost thirty years now, and the only people that had a clue were too afraid to tell on her, for fear of being labeled a lunatic, not to mention the countless lives they could be charged with, her father's included.

_But he doesn't know…_

"But she doesn't know…"

She look a few steps forward, unconsciously limping as she walked. She had a lot of work to do. After all, Mommy had destroyed only the one tape she had found. There were still the tapes remaining from the countless 'Rings' formed around her tape. However, after being cooped up in that cursed dark place for so long, the curse had long worn off on the videos. They'd become no more than common recording tapes for many. She'd have to start from scratch if she wanted to get anywhere. She felt something, and as her world grew brighter, the world grew dimmer.

There was another group of rowdy teenagers in Cabin Twelve of Shelter Inn, and they were about to watch a movie.

-O-

**Chapter One: A Boy Named Mary Sue**

-O-

Love. Love is one of the few things in life we cannot do without. Without it, we have no reason to exist, therefore, no purpose. If we cannot be loved by somebody and loved back, then what's the point in living in the first place? If we cannot experience the warmth of a hug, the butterflies of a kiss, then we would be better off experiencing the cold embrace of death around our bodies, no longer to suffer the torment of being without someone to care for. Love.

A clapping sound brewed from the classroom as students absorbed the poem they had just heard, some enthusiastic, some bored.

"_Very _well written poem, Zachary" said the teacher, giving a small clap as he walked over next to the chalkboard. "Now next, we have…"

-O-

Zachary…I always hated being called that. I much preferred being called simply Zach. It just rolled off the tongue better. Yeah, I'm Zach. I'm your typical, high-school-going-teenager, going through your typical-teenager-life. Well, it was normal until I met…_her…_But now I'm just getting ahead of myself. As you can see, I like to think life is a bit more than just drugs and sex, as many a teenager nowadays tends to believe. I also tend to not dig following trends. Perhaps I'm a bit mature for my age, or perhaps I'm just an ignorant little brat that doesn't know what in the world he's talking about. But only time will tell, now won't it?

-O-

"Hey, Zach! Wait up!"

Zach glanced behind him to see his best friend, Theodore, chasing after him in the school hallway. A smile weaved itself across his face. "Hey 'Dore!" Zach turned around and waved back.

Theodore folded his arms. "Are you gunna keep calling me that forever, man?"

"Well, how am _I_ supposed to know? I can't plan that far ahead!"

Both of them shared a quick laugh. They both traded blows back and forth like this often, though every single one of them ended in their enjoyment.

"Hey Zach, I've got some stuff for you to pick up at my house after school…" he grinned widely at his friend.

Zach just folded his arms and looked at Theodore with a playful curiosity on his face. "What _kind_ of stuff?"

"Eh, just some old movies and junk I don't need anymore. We're finally ditching our old VCR. I figured since you still use VHS you could use some of 'em"

Zach laughed. "Alright, I'll drop by your house and collect your garbage for you, master" he said playfully. They both shared a quick laugh before the bell rang.

"Well, there's the bell. See 'ya after school, Zach" and with a smile, he turned and started walking the opposite direction.

-O-

The sun was shining brightly now, not a cloud in the sky. It was about 4:00 P.M. now, and there were hardly any cars on the road. Zach could be seen riding his bike down the hill to Theodore's house. Zach skidded to a quick halt in front of Theodore's house and kicked the brake down before he could topple over. Zach hopped off his bike and walked up the paved walkway to Theodore's wooden porch. He climbed up the small flight of stairs and knocked on the door. The door opened and Theodore appeared in its place.

"Hey, Zach! I've got the tapes right here" Theodore reached over to the side of the doorway and dragged out a large box containing a wide array of videos, ranging from Disney classics to movies he probably wanted to get rid of before his mom found them.

Zach picked up one of said movies and then looked back up at Theodore, raising an eyebrow. Theodore just smiled a nervous smile, sweating a bit in the process. "Hey man, better you than me"

Zach scoffed. "Gee, _thanks_" he spat as he picked up the heavy box.

Theodore smirked. "You're welcome. Hey, you need any help carrying these back home? There's an awfully lot of movies there, and VHS tapes aren't exactly as light as DVDs, 'ya know?"

"Nah, I'm fine. Thanks 'Dore"

"No prob', man. Just be glad tomorrow's Saturday. Maybe we can get together and watch some of the more…_naughty_ of the tapes tomorrow, eh?"

Zach would of smacked him had he not been holding about fifteen pounds worth of movies in his arms. Seeing as his arms were currently out of commission, he settled for an angry smirk. The two said their goodbyes and Zach was on his way.

_'I just better be glad I live right across the street from 'Dore…'_

-O-

The front door swung open, and Zach picked up the box of videos again and walked in. He walked over to his television and placed the box of movies down next to it. He bent down and began rummaging through the tapes, digging through the convoluted assortment of cartoons and naughty people. Just as his interests began to wander elsewhere, his eyes landed on something strange. A blank, unmarked, coverless tape, sitting at the bottom of the box all on its lonesome. He picked the tape up and examined it. As he looked at it, he could of sworn he heard a whisper in his ear.

_Everyone will suffer…  
_

A blast of thunder jogged his senses before he could pay heed to the message. He looked outside and saw sunshine.

"Weird…" Zach walked over to his VCR and stuck the tape in. He walked back and plummeted down onto his couch lazily. He turned the TV on and hit 'Play'. At first, there was just static. Zach sighed. "Just like 'Dore to give me busted goods…" as he reached for the remote, a low howl sounded as a lighted ring appeared on the screen. After a few seconds of the ring blaring on the screen, a wide array of black and white scenes appeared onscreen.

A ring of light accompanied by an eerie, hollow sound.

A woman brushing her hair in a mirror.

Maggots covering the screen.

A box of wriggling fingers.

A man in a window.

A dead horse on the beach.

A woman standing on a cliff, facing away from the screen.

A nail being forced through a finger.

A three legged lamb.

The woman from before spreading her arms out like a bird and freefalling off the cliff.

A burning tree after a harsh storm.

A final image of a well in a solitary field with a forest surrounding it ended the tape, and it returned to static.

"What kind of crap was _that_ supposed to be?"

_Riiing. Riiing._

The ringing of Zach's phone shook him from his stupor. Zach reached across his couch and picked up the phone. "Hello?"

"_Seven days…"_

_-_O-O-O-

_

* * *

_

_ Corner of Pranktitude_

Yeah, chapter one is up. Reviews are accepted, flames are put out with mud.


	2. C2 Reflections

**-O- Chapter Two: Reflections -O-**

Zach froze. He could of sworn he felt his heart skip a beat. Reluctantly, he responded, "E-…Excuse me?"

_Silence… _

_Dial tone _

She had hung up.

Zach sat there in shock, for more than one reason. One, because of the nature of the ghastly call, and two, partially, because he was surprised he was so freaked out in the first place. After all, it's not like 'Dore hadn't been prone to pull pranks on him in the past. Like that time when they were young and Theodore had poured liquid soap into his soda. And you know, had Zach not been so freaked out by his situation, he would of most likely chuckled at his treasured memory.

But alas, no chuckle came. No smile, no joy. Just silence. But _why?_ What was the big deal? It was just a tape, right? Zach had to admit, though; parts of it reminded him of his clouded past; maybe even familiar to him, though he'd rather not admit it. He couldn't remember much of his childhood; especially after… 'The Incident'. But he had moved on. He was fine the way he was. Alone.

Or so he liked to think, anyway.

Zach continued to sit gawking for a minute before actually putting the phone back in its roost. He sat there for another second before he got up and walked into the kitchen. He walked over to his freezer and pulled out a microwave dinner. He didn't really feel like cooking right now. He popped it in the microwave for the designated time and then sat down at his small table. He still couldn't figure out why he was so freaked out over this. He was probably just paranoid. A boy in his position had a right to be.

-O-

_"Mommy, where are you going?" the young child asked. _

_His mother smiled and bent down to his level. "I've got to go to work, sweetie" _

_The child tilted his head curiously. "Why?" _

_The woman placed her hand on her son's head warmly. "Well, Zach, I've got to go to work so you can keep all of the beautiful things you own, like your bed and your toys" _

_"Oh" _

_I'll see you later, honey" she kissed Zach on his forehead and got back up, picked up her purse and walked out the door. _

_The young toddler sat on the rug in the huge mansion inquisitively. He tilted his head at the door before realizing that his mother wasn't going to walk back through it. _

_"Mommy…? Mommy?!" _

-O-

_Beep! Beep! Beep! _

The sound of Zach's dinner shook him from his memories. He got up and picked the plastic tray up out of the microwave. It was hot, but he didn't care right now. He set it on the table and got a fork from his drawer. He sat down in front of his food, but did little more than poke it for the meantime.

_'I don't need them…I never needed them…' _

Zach stubbornly smashed his fork into his food and began gulping it all down. He didn't know why he even continued living like this, but he did it none the less. He had always had an undying will to survive, to thrive and flourish. Besides, he wanted to prove to them that he could make it on his own…Without their "work".

-O-

Zach threw the empty plastic container away and walked upstairs. He needed rest, and knew it. He walked into the bathroom and began to brush his teeth. As he spat in the sink, he thought he saw some motion in the mirror. He turned around on instinct to find nothing there. But as he turned around, he found his own reflection had been replaced by someone else entirely.

"_WAH!" _

Zach jumped back a bit at the sight of her. At least, he thought it was a her. The new presence's face was hidden by a huge mop of black hair, and the rest of her body was covered by a tattered white dress. There was some red mixed in on parts of it, though, what Zach assumed to be blood stains. He stood gawking at her for a couple seconds before a hollow whisper filled the air, the words indistinguishable.

And just as quickly as she had appeared, the girl was gone.

Zach stared blankly for a second at his own reflection. "What in the worldjust...I must be hallucinating…" it was inevitable now. Zach needed sleep, and _badly. _

Zach quickly finished in the bathroom and changed into his pajamas. He walked across the hall into his bedroom. "Maybe I'm sick or something…" he sighed as he turned off all the lights and crept into bed. "Maybe I can just sleep it off" He curled up under the covers and swiftly drifted off to sleep, never once noticing the presence in his doorway looming over him.

_Soon… _

_-_O-

Corner of Pranktitude: Yup, chapter two. Finally. I originally didn't notice the thing with the mirror and the chapter title until like, the end. Kinda funny how life works, 'ya know? Hope yoy enjoyed it, chapter three's not far behind!


	3. C3 First Day Dreamer

**-O-**

**-O- Chapter Three: First Day Dreamer -O-**

**-O- ****Day One -O-**

_There Zach stood, in the middle of the forest, a perplexed look on his face. There was no wind, no sound, just an eerie silence. The trees and sky fizzed strangely. The silence was becoming very uncomfortable, so he decided to break it. "Where…where am I?" _

_Zach walked around for a few minutes, observing his surroundings. He noticed that everything, including himself, was in grayscale. He looked straight in front of him and saw a solitary well in the middle of the wood. He walked up to it and peered down into it. He noticed the lid was off to the side of it. He leaned over the well, holding his balance with his hands. Unfortunately for Zach, he didn't notice the soft sound of footsteps behind him._

_**All I wanted was you…**_

_Before Zach could turn around fully, all he could see was a darkness surrounding him, the sound of a plastic-like rustling filling his senses. His world then fell to blackness…_

-O-

Zach's eyes shot open as he awoke from his nightmare. Upon realizing that he was awake, he sat up quickly and felt himself, making sure everything was real. Once he was sure it was just a dream, he let out a relieving sigh. He glanced at his clock. 9:47 A.M.

'_Too early for a Saturday…´_

He held his head in his hands for a minute before finally getting up and getting out of bed. He picked himself up and walked into his bathroom, but hesitated after walking through the doorway. He took a second to look at the mirror before recognizing himself in it. He sighed again before continuing to get cleaned up for the day. He decided to skip on a shower for now; it _was _Saturday, after all. He didn't have anything to really get cleaned up forso he settled for changing into some baggy, ripped jeans, a dark blue t-shirt and some sneakers, and a quick comb of his hair. With that, he walked out of his house and made his way across the street towards Theodore's house.

Zach sighed as he walked up the familiar porch to his friend's door. "Why do I have a feeling that last night wasn't the last of this?" Zach was about to knock, when suddenly, the door burst open and there, standing a mere couple of feet away from him, was the girl. Zach jumped back with a scream and fell backwards down the stairs from whence he came, his head making contact with hard pavement. He looked up to see the girl's aged dress fading out of existence; the only thing to remain was the hair.

'Dore fell backwards onto his porch laughing hysterically, the black wig on his head shifting off his head as he did so. "Oh…my…_GOSH! _You should…of seen…your face!" 'Dore let out between his insane giggle fit. Zach sat up and stared out into space for a minute, his eyes wide with fright and his skin now pale.

'Dore noticed the sudden change in his friend's demeanor. "Hey bud, you alright?" he waved a hand in front of Zach's face.

Zach finally awoke from his little 'nap'. "Y-yeah, I just didn't…sleep very well last night is all"

'Dore folded his arms. "You sure you're okay, man?"

Zach blinked, taking in his current surroundings. The color had returned to his face by now. "Y-yeah…" Zach got up rather messily and brushed himself off.

Theodore was still unsure, but accepted the explanation for now. "Alright. So, what do you wanna do today?"

"Eat?"

'Dore laughed. "You mean you still haven't eaten breakfast?!"

"I told you I didn't sleep well…"

"Hey, no worries, man" 'Dore knew something was up, but decided to keep it to himself. It was probably just Zach having one of his 'out of it' days or something. "So, what did you have in mind?"

"Let's eat out for breakfast… I haven't felt like cooking lately..."

"Okay, let's head over to Dennys."

"…Alright…"

'Dore crossed his arms and smiled wryly. "Hey, don't worry. I'll drive us"

Zach chuckled. "'Dore, _please! _My night's been traumatic enough!_"_

'Dore pat his friend on the shoulder warmly. "_There's _the Zach we all know and love!"

-O-

'Dore had been inhaling his food for the past couple of minutes. He must of swallowed at least three entire pancakes whole by now, and he showed no signs of stopping. Zach, on the other hand…

'Dore stopped for a moment, his fork up to his mouth with another full pancake occupying it. He looked over at his friend's slumped posture, how he supported his head with his arm, which was resting on the table's edge. Zach seemed to be dazed, looking off into nothing. The only motion he showed was that of torturing his poor breakfast by giving it a slow death-by-poking.

'Dore couldn't bear to watch any more food suffer such a horrific fate. "Alright man, spill. What's the matter with you?"

Zach had an instant attitude change as he looked up at Theodore and flashed him a large, goofy smile. "What?" he said with a chuckle. "Nothing's wrong, 'Dore!"

Theodore folded his arms. "Oh _yeah _it is. It's not like you to mope around like this!" Zach' admitting defeat, looked down and away from his friend, as if thinking it could actually hide his emotions from him.

"Did something happen last night?"

"…Yeah…"

"What?"

"…I…can't tell you…"

'Dore laughed. "Oh _sure, _you can't tell me because it's 'something I won't believe', right?"

Zach looked away even more, but then gave a small nod.

'Dore's expression instantly changed to that of surprise. He laughed. "Come on, man, tell me!"

Zach simply sighed in response.

"Oh _please! _Please please _please!"_

Zach sighed. "Will you shut up about it if I do?"

'Dore made a slicing motion across his heart with his right hand while he held his left up in the air. "Cross my heart, man".

Zach sighed. "Alright…"

-O-

"Would you stop _laughing?!"_

Zach and Theodore walked out of the Denny's together, though both wore completely opposite faces. 'Dore had found the entire ordeal humorous to him, and had been laughing for the past fifteen minutes. Zach, on the other hand…

"I said _stop!"_

'Dore managed to halt his laughter for a minute. "I'm sorry, man, but come on! A little girl? Your seriously afraid that there's somebody stalking you?"

"Or some_thing_…"

'Dore laughed. "Oh come on, man! Like a girl _anything _would stalk _you!"_

"Ha ha, you're a real _riot_"

"Yeah, I know"

Zach playfully punched his friend on the shoulder, though his expression remained stagnant. Once the joyful moment had passed, Zach stuffed his hands in his pockets and stared down at the concrete below him. 'Dore was worried for his friend, something just wasn't right, and he wanted to know what.

"She didn't feel right…"

'Dore looked over at his friend. "Who?"

"The girl…"

"Oh…" 'Dore looked down at the sidewalk. His friend wasn't acting like himself at all. Sure, he had his moments, but never anything this intense. Not in awhile, anyway. "How so?"

"I'm not sure…She just felt like she didn't belong…Like…She was rejected and meant to stay that way…"

"That's deep, man"

Zach remained silent.

The silence continued uneasily for a few minutes as the two climbed into the car and drove off. It was then that Theodore realized something that needed to be answered.

"So…Where are we going?"

"I…don't know, actually" Zach chuckled.

'Dore smiled. His friend hadn't gone _completely _AWOL on him. "Wanna go see a movie or something? I heard the second Pirates of the Caribbean is s'posed to be really good"

Zach responded with a sad smile. "Okay…"

-O-

The trip on the way was relatively silent, which was a first for them. When they got there, the theatre was jam packed with people, families and couples filling the spacious building. The ticket line was relatively short, however, so they got through it fairly quickly. It was the snack that was the problem child.

"Move it!" 'Dore shouted at the line.

Zach ignored 'Dore. Being in a public place hadn't made him feel any more comfortable. His eyes leapt from one person to the next every second, making a mental note of every move, every hand gesture. Despite this, however, he failed to notice his friend's hand landing on his shoulder. Zach jumped a bit when he felt it and almost screamed, until he saw 'Dore standing in front of him.

"Hey man, settle down! Help me carry our stuff will 'ya?" 'Dore picked up both of their drinks.

Zach nodded and looked over at the two large bags of popcorn sitting on the counter. "Y-yeah…" Zach picked up the popcorn and followed 'Dore to the room showing their movie. They spotted two empty seats in the first row.

'Dore was, to say the least, overjoyed. "Woo-yeah!" he ran and plopped himself down on the seat. "Front row seats, baby!" 'Dore slid both their drinks into the cup holders on the arm rests. "Come on, man!" 'Dore patted the seat next to him with his right hand. "Take a load off!"

Zach smiled and sat down. He handed one of the popcorn bags to Theodore, whom immediately began devouring it. Zach shook his head. "Man, your not gonna have any popcorn left by the time the movie starts!"

All Zach got in response was some incoherent mumbles. A second later, the movie started. 'Dore was cheering like a madman, but for some reason, he stopped suddenly. Zach didn't think much of it, however.

_Static…_

The movie screen began to blink in and out between static and the movie. Zach eyed the screen carefully. Suddenly, the ring appeared on the screen, and the low howl of a sound it made blasted through the surround sound speakers. Zach covered his ears. Before long, the scene switched to the well. The screech stopped and Zach let his hands slowly drop from his ears. A music box started playing, but it sounded different. It sounded eerie and unnatural. A little girl could be heard singing an indistinguishable set of lyrics, which only made the entire ordeal that much more scary. Zach looked around the theatre and noticed that he was now alone. He looked back toward the screen to see that he was no longer in front of it, but inside it. He was standing directly in front of the well. He could hear a steady pace of footsteps behind him, but his fear kept him plastered in that one position.

A chill went up his spine as he felt a cold breath against the back of his neck. He could feel himself being shoved into the well, but his body refused to respond. He smacked against nearly every rock in the well, until his body fell into the water. He could feel himself losing consciousness. He could hear the faint sound of stone against stone, and managed to look up one last time before falling into darkness.

He saw the ring.

-O-

Corner of Pranktitude: Yeah, I obviously got Fanfic working again. I hope you like this chapter, guys! Oh, and 'Dore is right. Second Pirates of the Carribean is good. Its better than good, its awesometastic. See it or I'll SICK SAMARA ON YOU.


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